A bird on the Nile (5)

I believe the answer is:

aswan

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'nile' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'a bird on' is the wordplay.
'bird' becomes 'swan' (swan is a kind of bird).
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'a'+'swan'='ASWAN'

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aswan that I've seen before include "Nile High Dam" , "Site of dam in Egypt" , "Egyptian town and dam" , "Ancient city on the Nile" , "Site of dam on the Nile" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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